Today in class we briefly discussed the importance of branding and how the process of branding is facilitated by the Internet and our online social communities. The significance of a brand name cannot be overstated as it may arguably be the most vital aspect of marketing. Branding not only helps define a product, but it also helps identify a consumer. Creating a proper brand image that encompasses a company's ideals and values is key to the success of that company. The brand, in many instances, becomes more powerful and more relevant than the product itself. Additionally, once a brand is established, it presents many attractive opportunities in terms of developing new products (and charging premium prices), penetrating new markets, and serving as a source of additional revenue through cross promotion and advertisements. Throughout class, I couldn't help thinking about how enormous and how profitable Google was as a company. Simultaneously, I was thinking to myself, "What exactly does Google do to make all that money?" As I learned, while Google does have several profitable business lines, its most valuable money-making asset is its brand and its name. This brand, and all it represents, draws excessive web traffic which consequently allows the company to take in such hefty ad revenue. Additionally, while the brainiacs at Google frantically work behind the scenes to make subtle changes to their free search engines, changes that consumers may never actively notice, the Google brand is only expanding further, growing its popularity and revenue potential, a rather fruitful operation.
No comments:
Post a Comment